BOUNTIFUL — John Cox was serving as director for temporal affairs for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Britain and Africa when the revelation concerning blacks holding the priesthood was announced.

Cox will speak of his experiences in Ghana and Nigeria at the May dinner meeting of the Centerville chapter of the Sons of the Utah Pioneers on May 6. The dinner will at 6:30 p.m. at the Wight House Reception Center, 95 N. Main, in Bountiful. The meeting is open to the public and the cost of the meal is $12.50. Non-members should call 801-292-2634 for reservations.

Cox, who was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, and converted to the LDS Church at age 18, was the director and chief engineer for British Airways for 20 years, before being employed by the church.

In 1978 when the revelation was announced, church leaders asked Cox to go to Ghana and Nigeria to see what was going on there, Cox told the Clipper Monday morning.

The church had been receiving letters from people who said they were members, and asking for literature and contact with church representatives.

Cox said he traveled to both nations and made an inventory of buildings that had been built by people who had established the church there prior to any contact with church officials.

“I found 5,000 members in Ghana and another 5,000 in Nigeria,” Cox said.

He plans to share with SUP members the history of the LDS Church in those countries since the 1960s and how the church is doing there today.

In addition to serving as director for temporal affairs, Cox also served as director of international welfare and director for humanitarian services for the church internationally.

He has served as a bishop three times, district president, stake president, regional representative, mission president, and as a member of the young men’s general board.